Year of the Spark: October 11 to 13
by Sparky Army
Summary: It was like his whole world was crashing down. The Year of the Spark continues.
1. Chapter 1

_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers that Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone might happen to read these works, agree._

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

Authors Note: I probably should have finished this fic months ago but better late than never. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Crashing Down**

_By Hannah554_

* * *

Chapter 1

The Nessari seemed like nice enough people, John wouldn't have brought Elizabeth through the gate if he'd thought there was a chance they weren't. They were a simple society, farming just enough food to support their population and living happily that way. His team had been greeted with warm welcomes and happy smiles, one of the villagers had even tried to hug Ronon, the Satedan had glared at him until he reconsidered the idea.

Teyla had been her usual diplomatic self and Rodney had been bored and whiny until they found out about the caves to the north. There was Ancient writing covering the walls all the way from the entrance, through the long dark tunnel into the chamber at the end. Rodney had started translating part of the wall, it mentioned a ZPM and the scientist was then on a mission to find it.

John had reported back to Elizabeth who of course had immediately volunteered herself to help with the translations. Leaving Lorne in charge of Atlantis she had come through the gate in less than half an hour, armed with two note pads, one which was already full and would apparently help her with the translation and another for her to make random notes in. She seemed excited, translating walls full of text didn't sound like fun to him but he knew Elizabeth would enjoy it so he didn't comment. Instead he left her to it, requesting that she stay near the entrance where he could see her as he sat outside and read War and Peace, glad he'd asked her to bring it. Rodney's initial assessment had said this would probably take days; he could probably get through a chapter or two in that time.

He wasn't sure how much he liked the idea of staying here for a few days but his team was due for some good down time. Ronon and Teyla could mostly do what they wanted as long as they kept an eye on Rodney who seemed quite happy trying to find his ZPM, he was like a kid on a treasure hunt. Elizabeth was enjoying herself as she did her translation, having idle conversation with John as he sat near the entrance.

"Find anything interesting yet?" John questioned as he book marked his place and walked into the cave. Elizabeth was only a few feet away from where he'd been sitting and she smiled as she turned to him.

"Not yet, I haven't done enough of a translation to be sure but I think this part is a story," she told him, her eyes full of excitement as she continued to explain. "It talks about this man, Andras; I think he was an Ancient. He didn't like the ways of his people, the way they held themselves above others so he left them and came to live here, that's all I've got so far."

"Well, it sounds mildly interesting, let me know when we get to the action part of the story," he stated and Elizabeth's smile widened.

"I'm not sure how much shooting will be involved but I'll let you know," she replied as she turned back to the text inscribed in the stone. "With any luck though he won't have your propensity for getting into trouble."

"Hey, I resent that, I do not get into trouble all that often," he said and Elizabeth looked back at him, raising an eyebrow incredulously. "Rodney does, I just happen to be there."

Elizabeth laughed and went back to her writing, her smile fading slightly as a look of concentration covered her face. John leaned against the wall, watching her work and marvelling at how relaxed she seemed to be, he supposed everyone needed a break from Atlantis sometimes, no matter how much they loved the city.

He glanced behind him, Rodney was still in the back of the cave translating the text there, it was much darker so the scientist would have his flashlight on but at this distance John couldn't make out the light. He wanted to go check on the scientist but at the same time he didn't want to leave Elizabeth on her own. Rodney was further into the cave which he already knew was void of monsters and other entrances, anything that could harm him had to get passed John first but this was the Pegasus Galaxy and it wouldn't be a complete surprise if the wall came alive and attacked him.

"McKay, this is Sheppard, come in," he said as he tapped his radio earpiece, he was momentarily greeted by static until Rodney's voice finally replied.

"What is it?" Rodney questioned, only a slight amount of irritation in his voice at the distraction.

"Just checking in, how's it going, you find your treasure yet?" John asked, he saw Elizabeth smile slightly as she overheard his conversation.

"My trea... oh ha ha very funny," Rodney's reply came "No, not yet, there's a lot of text here, has Elizabeth found anything?"

"Nothing you'd be interested in," John told him and then ended the conversation, he should probably check in with Teyla and Ronon as well, he wasn't even sure where the two of them were anymore, last he'd heard they were heading to the river, that had been an hour ago.

* * *

Teyla and Ronon it seemed had decided to join some of the villagers fishing, John had laughed at the mental imagery of Ronon trying to fish, even more so when he discovered how they did it. The two of them had returned, boots in their hands and the legs of their pants rolled up to their knees, splashes of water covering parts of their clothes. The Nessari used spears for fishing, standing quietly in the water, still as statues and waiting patiently for an unsuspecting fish to come too close. Some of the fish would obviously be caught, others would just swim away and some would jump out of the river, splash water all over the attackers in revenge for the attempt on their lives and then swim away mockingly. Apparently the latter had happened repeatedly to Ronon and even Teyla and Elizabeth laughed as Teyla told them about it.

They'd called it a day shortly after that, Ronon and Teyla had checked in with Atlantis before sundown and everyone had settled into the inn they were staying at. They were all given separate rooms, all identical and equal in their smallness, there was barely enough room to walk between the bed, the wardrobe and the window. On the plus side they did have their own very tiny bathrooms so he supposed he couldn't complain too much.

"So how long are these translations going to take?" Ronon questioned as they all sat downstairs in the inn, some of the other patrons were watching them curiously, it seemed they didn't get too many visitors through the gate here, only the Wraith.

"I'm not sure," Elizabeth replied as she took a drink of her water. "A few days at least, we didn't get a whole lot done today but now that I'm back into the swing of it I should be able to make much more progress."

"You can always go fishing again," John laughed only to be glared at by Ronon who didn't find it as amusing as the rest of the group did.

"I didn't even want to do it in the first place, Teyla made me," he said, sounding very close to a moan as Teyla laughed at the miserable expression on his face.

"I did not make you, I merely said you should try," Teyla replied, standing from the table with her usual grace, despite how tired she looked. "I think I will get some sleep now."

"I think we all should, it'll be a long day tomorrow," Elizabeth stated, the rest of the group standing and abandoning the remainder of their drinks. John walked Elizabeth to her door, for some reason he really didn't like to let her out of his sight when they were off world, his need to protect her so much a part of him now that he did it without even thinking about it.

"Today's been a good day," Elizabeth said as they came to a stop outside her room.

"It was nice to see you relax," he told her and Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him in a half serious glare. "

"I do relax," she stated knowing as well as he did that those instances were few and far between, they were type of events that people joked about happening once in a blue moon, possibly when pigs fly, John had told her so on more than one occasion.

"Reading reports does not count," he joked and she smiled as she opened her door.

"Goodnight John," she said her green eyes on his.

"Goodnight Elizabeth," he replied and with that she was gone, John sighed and walked the few meters between her door and his, obviously he'd made sure he'd be in the room closest to hers.

* * *

They'd gotten started early that day, Ronon and Teyla were in the back of the cave with Rodney, Elizabeth was once again working on her translations at the entrance while John sat close by to keep an eye one her. They'd been at it for hours already, they'd left the village when the sun was barely up and it was going on lunch time now, John had no doubt that Rodney would come out of the cave in search of food before long. As if on cue the scientist emerged from the cave, coming to a stop near Elizabeth with Teyla and a very bored looking Ronon right behind him.

"McKay wants food," Ronon said as Rodney got side tracked by Elizabeth's translations, it didn't take him long to realise it was more about history than science and he refocused on his quest for food.

"Alright we'll head back to the village," John stated, it was only a twenty minute walk to the small town, they'd only lose an hour at the most and if it meant that they could have a proper meal rather than rations and whatever it was the inn keeper had packed for them then it was an hour he'd happily lose.

Teyla, Ronon and Rodney left the cave and John was only mildly surprised that Rodney didn't complain about the extra walking he was going to have to do. He looked at Elizabeth who still had her back to him, she was knelt on the floor facing the wall and scribbling something in her note pad.

"Elizabeth?" he questioned and she hummed an acknowledgement as she finished whatever she was writing.

"I just want to finish this part of the text, it should only take a few more minutes," she told him and John nodded turning to look at the others who were waiting near the trees.

"You guys go ahead, we'll be right behind you," he said and the three of them disappeared into the trees. John looked back at Elizabeth who had once again focused on what she was translating and he decided just to gather their gear together while he was waiting for her. He stepped just outside the cave picking up War and Peace and shoving it into his backpack. One of Elizabeth's notepads was on the floor nearby so he grabbed that as well, slipping it more carefully into the bag with his book.

The ground shook then, it was so subtle he wondered for a moment if he'd imagined it but then he did it again and his doubt quickly faded. He waited for a few seconds but nothing happened, there was no sense taking chances though, if it was nothing then the cave would still be here after lunch.

"Elizabeth, let's go," he shouted as he finished putting their things into the bag.

"Just a minute," she called back and John shook his head to himself, he had a bad feeling, his instincts were practically screaming at him to get Elizabeth out of the cave and head back to the village.

"You can finish when we get back now let's go," he shouted again as he stood up and turned toward the cave, the words coming out more like an order despite her being his superior.

Elizabeth turned to look at him about to reply when the ground started shaking again. John lost his balance the shaking becoming strong enough to knock him to the ground. He heard rumbling, a separate noise to that of the ground shaking and he looked up in time to see part of the cave coming down. He looked at Elizabeth, his panic reflected on her face and then she disappeared, covered by a wall of rock and dust.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers that Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone might happen to read these works, agree._

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

* * *

**Crashing Down**

_By Hannah554_

* * *

Chapter 2

John felt terror run through him as he pushed himself up from the floor, his hands were grey, covered in dust from the collapse of the cave and he could imagine his face looked much the same. The entrance to the cave was completely gone, the roof had collapsed, the rocks packed tightly together.

"Elizabeth," he shouted his voice raspy and not nearly loud enough to be heard inside the cave. He coughed, his lungs trying to force the dirt and dust out of his body and once he was able to breathe John tried shouting again. He got no response and for a moment panic clouded his ability to think clearly. His military training kicked in then and he remembered his radio, he reached for his earpiece relieved to find it still there. He tapped it and tried to reach Elizabeth but he still didn't get a response.

"John," he heard Teyla's voice from behind him and he turned around to where Teyla, Ronon and Rodney were emerging from the trees. "Are you alright?" she questioned.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Rodney asked before John could even formulate a response to the first question.

"She was still in the cave, she's not answering her radio," John told him, his mind already working out what he should do next. They needed to get to Elizabeth and in order to do that they were going to have to clear the entrance. Rodney had a nasty looking cut on his head, John felt like he was going to cough up half a tonne of dust and Elizabeth would need medical attention as well.

"Teyla, Rodney, head to the gate and let Atlantis know what's happened, we need a medical team and some back up. Then head to the village, make sure the villagers are alright and if possible get some help up here," John ordered, Teyla nodded her head, her concern for Elizabeth obvious even as she started to walk away. Rodney stared fearfully at the cave for a moment before Teyla gently tugged his arm and he reluctantly followed her.

"We need to move these rocks but we're gonna have to do it carefully, one wrong move and the whole thing could come down on us and Elizabeth." _If she's alive..._John shook that that thought out of his head as he looked at the collapsed pile of rock and rubble trying to judge where to start.

Ronon didn't say anything he just started moving rocks, picking up the small loose ones first and throwing them clear out of the way. John quickly moved to help him, throwing the smaller rocks in the same direction Ronon had tossed them. He'd try and get Elizabeth on the radio again later in the meantime his priority was to get to her as fast and as carefully as possible.

* * *

It had been an earthquake, according to the villagers they got a lot of them and John could only be mildly annoyed that they hadn't been warned. The cave had to have been damaged from all the previous quakes it had just taken one more to make it collapse and as luck would have it they just happened to be there during that one.

The village had suffered a fair bit of damage but no one had been seriously hurt, a lot of the villagers had come to the cave to try and help and John had no idea what to do with them all. Carson had arrived with a medical team and back up, Laura and Lorne's team had both come along leaving Radek back in Atlantis to watch the city and fret about what was going on here. Carson had forced John and Ronon to take a break after a couple of hours. The tall Satedan was sitting underneath a tree with Teyla, watching the rescue efforts intently and biding his time until he could help again. Rodney was currently helping move the rocks with Laura and Lorne; they'd already moved a lot of the smaller ones and had been forced to get some of the big ones out of the way. It was a slow process, too slow for John's liking but if they moved any faster they could easily misjudge was they were ding and move the wrong rock.

"Elizabeth," John said into his earpiece again a note of desperation had crept into his voice over the last three or four attempts he'd made to contact her. Once again there was no response and John sighed as he shifted his position on the rock he'd spent the last fifteen minutes sitting on.

The rescue site was noisy, rocks being thrown and dropped with loud thuds, people calling to one another and Rodney's, Lorne's and Laura's voices shouting orders over all of it. John felt his hope dwindling with every rock they moved, it wasn't just the entrance that had collapsed if it had been then they would be almost done by now, if not finished already. He felt useless sitting here just watching the rescue, he looked around him; Carson was no where in sight, probably tending to some of the villagers. John stood up and walked over to the cave helping Lorne to lift one of the larger rocks and ignoring the look his second in command gave him.

Ronon was up then too, seizing his own chance to get involved again and though Teyla gave both men a reproachful look she said nothing and joined in again as well. They'd be losing light in a few hours and John would really prefer to have Elizabeth on her way back to Atlantis before then.

It was several minutes before Carson returned and the doctor immediately noticed that John and Ronon had returned to the rescue efforts. He left them to it though, fifteen minutes was the best he was going to get out of them without forcefully sedating both men and the good doctor knew it. The next rock was huge, at least three times bigger than the biggest one they'd had to move so far. John and Ronon moved to either side of it, shouting for the people in front of them to get out of the way before they pushed the rock. It took several moments and everything John had in him but the rock finally rolled off the pile and hit the ground with a loud bang. Lorne, Laura and Teyla took over then and it obviously took a great amount of effort for them to push it along the floor.

John allowed himself a moment to breath before searching out the next rock, the one nearest to him was holding up three others so they definitely didn't want to move that one. There were two rocks that were supporting each other, move one and the other would go so they were gonna have to be taken at the same time. He finally located his next target; he bent down to get a grip on it when his earpiece crackled. He paused, gesturing to the people near him to be quiet.

"John," the voice was weak and quiet but he would know it anywhere.

"Elizabeth," he said and the majority of people fell silent, there was no response for several seconds and John felt the terror he was quickly getting used to rise up again.

"John... what... happened?" her voice was so full of pain that John inwardly winced and cursed himself for not getting her out of the cave faster.

"The cave collapsed, are you hurt?" he asked her and it once again took her some time to respond, Carson was already by his side listening in on the conversation.

"My head... hurts; my side too," the words were slurred and barely audible and John exchanged a glance with Carson who took over the conversation there, asking her questions and seemingly trying to keep her lucid.

* * *

Teyla was now talking to Elizabeth, the Athosian's voice was calm and comforting and John could only pray that it would somehow help Elizabeth. Carson gestured for John to join him and he jumped down from the pile of rocks and walked over to the doctor.

"I can't be sure without seeing her myself but from the sound of it she's seriously injured. I can only make guesses but I'd say she's got a nasty head injury, some bleeding, external or internal, I don't know but I can tell you that we need to get her out of there fast," Carson told him seriously and John nodded his head as he looked back at the rescue efforts. They were already moving as fast as they could, there were some people who'd been working from the start with only the shortest possible breaks. One person had already been hurt because he tried to go too fast, one of the villagers had tried to move the wrong rock and brought a few others down on his legs. He'd be fine but they couldn't risk hurting more people because they were trying to move things along too quickly.

It was taking too long though, the sun was going down, they were about to lose the light. The artificial lights Lorne's team had brought would allow them to keep working through the night but losing the sun was going to slow them down. Elizabeth had been in there for seven hours now and if Carson was right she might not last another seven.

"Alright, thanks Carson," John said and the doctor nodded going to help with digging out the cave entrance now that he'd treated everyone who needed it out here. John surveyed the site, there was no way he could get this moving faster, everyone was tired, some of the villagers that were still going looked like they were ready to drop to sleep where they stood, even some of the Atlantians looked exhausted though not one of them looked prepared to give up. He went back to join them, helping Rodney when he nearly dropped the rock he was carrying and John found a new respect for the scientist. For all the complaining Rodney did about exercise and all the physical exertion involved in missions he hadn't once complained about having to dig out and move rocks for the majority of the day, hadn't once said he was too tired or his arms ached.

Rodney thanked him and went to find more rocks to move, the doctor and two nurses that had come through the gate with Carson were handing out water and food. One of them offered it to John, he took the bottle of water but ignored the food and the young nurse continued on her way. John took a drink and then threw the bottle under a nearby tree before picking up a rock and moving it away from the cave. The process was repetitive and strenuous but he kept at it until well after the sun was gone. Ronon finished taking his short break and came back to digging and John decided it would be a good time for him to take some time. He walked over to where Rodney was now sat talking to Elizabeth and the scientist nodded allowing John to take over as he went back to work.

"Hey Lizabeth," he said not allowing his exhaustion to show in his voice.

"Hi John," she whispered and he was taken aback at how much weaker her voice had become since he'd last spoken to her.

"You should see it out here, you've got everyone working hard," he told her "Even Rodney, you'd be proud of him, he hasn't even complained once."

"That's good," she replied and he heard her sharp intake of breath and wished he could be in there with her to help her. "It's cold."

He frowned, it was anything but cold, in fact the air was so warm that it was making the rescue even harder and it had to be warmer inside the cave. John scanned the crowd of people, his eyes locating Carson and he managed to get the man's attention. The doctor started working his way over as John continued to talk to Elizabeth.

"How's your head?" he asked her and there was silence, too much silence before she answered him.

"Still hurts... can't really feel... my side though... probably not... a good thing," she managed to say, the longest sentence she'd put together broken up by her ragged breathing. Carson was listening in on the conversation again, worry written all over his face along with something else John didn't like the look of. He heard Elizabeth cough and the small moan of pain that accompanied it and he had to reign in a million emotions that he couldn't afford to deal with now.

"We're almost through Lizabeth," he said and prayed it wasn't a lie.

"I feel... dizzy and..." John waited for her to finish but there was no more response from her, the sound of her breathing had gone quiet too.

"Elizabeth," he said a little too loudly and he heard another sharp intake of breath and a confused, pained murmur from her. "I need you to stay with us okay Lizabeth; I have something very important to tell you when we get back to Atlantis."

"You might... wanna tell me... now," she replied and John took a deep breath to hold back his tears.

"Not until we get you out," he told her and felt panic again when she didn't respond, he couldn't even hear her breathing anymore and despite his and Carson's attempts to call to her the radio remained silent.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers that Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone might happen to read these works, agree._

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

* * *

**Crashing Down**

_By Hannah554_

* * *

Chapter 3

It had been hours since he'd heard her voice, hours since the radio had gone silent and John had never felt so much terror in his life, not even when Kolya's men had tied him to a chair and brought a Wraith in to feed on him. They were making progress, it was slow but at least they were getting there now. They'd lost the sunlight, were stuck relying on the artificial lights that Lorne's team had brought with them, it would be a long time before the sun came back up and hopefully they'd have Elizabeth out by then.

John stood up straight, stretching out the muscles of his back and inwardly wincing at the sound of his spine cracking. His entire body ached from how much effort this was taking but he refused to stop, he had to keep going until this was done. He rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead, wiping away the layer of sweat that had accumulated and leaving behind just the dirt and dust that covered most of him.

Teyla was next to him looking just as tired and filthy as he did but she showed no signs of slowing down either. Not one of the Lantians that had come here looked like they were ready to stop, some of the villagers were still there as well, a few were taking a break nearby though a number had made their way back to the village for the night. Deciding that ten seconds was too much of a break when Elizabeth was still trapped inside the cave he got back to work. He bent down to pick up another rock and tossed it away barely registering the thud as it hit the large rock pile nearby.

There was another large rock blocking his way and he motioned to Ronon and Rodney, both men joining him and Teyla in their effort to move it out of the way. It took more energy than he had left to give, than any of them had left to give to move it, the rock sliding across the ground slowly until it was far enough from the cave entrance to be out of the way. Despite having long since used up all their energy the four of them went back to shifting rocks, the sound of rock after rock being moved or thrown filling the otherwise silent night.

"Hey, I've got something," Rodney shouted, the tired scientist suddenly full of energy at the prospect of getting close to their leader. John almost ran the few steps between himself and Rodney, looking into the gap in the rocks where Rodney was pointing.

If it had been daytime it probably wouldn't have been so easy to see but in the dark it was obvious, a light coming through the rocks that could only be coming from a torch. There was nothing else inside the cave that would give off any light, only Elizabeth's torch and if they could see that then maybe if they moved a few more rocks they'd be able to see her.

As though their strength had been renewed everyone went back to work, moving rocks almost as quickly as when they'd started. They were close, so close that John felt more frustrated than he had in hours that he couldn't get to her, she was just out of reach. At the same time he felt the hope that had been slowly dwindling since this had started return full force.

* * *

He was almost there; John pulled the last rock blocking his path out of the way letting it roll to the bottom of the pile as he grabbed his torch and looked inside the cave. He could see where the light from Elizabeth's torch was coming from, could just about make out the shape of a leg sticking out from behind some rocks. He turned back to the rest of the rescue party who were all waiting on him now.

"I'm going in, Carson, you follow me, the rest of you try and clear some more of these rocks so we can get her out with causing more harm," he ordered, there were several nods and 'yes sirs' from the crowd who immediately stared moving again. John looked at the hole and started climbing through it, shimmying his body through the small hole and then falling to the floor once he was through.

His side scraped across a rock but he barely even noticed, he made his way over to Elizabeth dropping down next to her body. Carson was still trying to get through the small hole and John spared a glance at him to make sure he was okay before focusing his attention on Elizabeth. She was pale, paler than he could ever remember seeing her, her chest was rising and falling assuring him she was alive but the movement was so small that she couldn't be getting much air into her lungs. She had a deep cut on her head, one that had obviously been bleeding badly at some point and her leg was pinned by a large rock. There were a few other minor scrapes and bruises but John wasn't a doctor and he couldn't be entirely sure how badly she was injured.

There was a thud from near the entrance and John looked up to see Carson picking himself up from the floor and coming over to them. He knelt down on the other side of Elizabeth, scanning over her fragile body before assessing how badly she was injured. John turned to the entrance again; he could hear the sound of rocks still being moved and Lorne shouting orders.

"Her pulse is weak, she's lost a lot of blood," Carson said and John refocused his attention back on Elizabeth. He reached for her hand which seemed so small and light in his own and he cursed that he hadn't got here faster. Carson was still talking, as much to himself as to John and what little of it made it through to John's head made him utterly terrified.

"She's possibly bleeding internally, it looks like she might have taken a hit to her side, we need to get her back to Atlantis now," Carson stated and John nodded looking to the entrance. The others had already managed to clear some more rocks from the small hole, it would be hard work but they could hopefully get her through without injuring her further.

"Alright, is it safe to move the rocks from her leg?" he questioned and Carson gave him the go ahead, John pulled at the rock and with a little help from Carson they were able to shift it off her leg. John carefully gathered Elizabeth in his arms and moved toward the small hole, Caron ahead of him shouting for help on the other side.

John started to pass Elizabeth through the hole to Ronon, they moved slowly, careful not to jostle Elizabeth as they did so. Once she was through John helped Carson to get out of the cave before following himself. When he hit the floor on the other side Elizabeth was already strapped to a stretcher with Carson and another doctor tending to her injuries as best they could. Teyla was thanking the villager's who had helped with the rescue and promised to send word of Elizabeth back through the gate.

Carson informed him they'd done all they could do here and the team headed back through the gate. John and Lorne carried the stretcher between them and Elizabeth's complete lack of movement made him worry more and more as they got closer to the gate.

* * *

Carson had done all he could, now it was just up to Elizabeth to fight her way back to them. Some of the colour had returned to her face, the internal bleeding had been stopped but apparently she'd been pretty close to death when they'd got to her, any longer and she wouldn't have made it. Her pulse was steady, the heart monitor beeping in a regular rhythm that was as much of a reassurance as anything else.

John had barely left her side since the surgery, he'd had a few things to attend to on Atlantis but Radek was still keeping the city in order. The people involved in the rescue had stuck around for a while but after working straight through the night to get to Elizabeth sleep had eventually gotten too demanding. Surprisingly, Rodney had lasted the longest, holding vigil with John until just an hour ago.

Sleep was desperately trying to claim John and at this point he was struggling to eve keep his eyes open but he wasn't leaving until he knew she was okay. Her hand was in his once again and he refused to let go of it as though just holding onto her would stop her from leaving him. He wasn't even aware he'd fallen asleep until a slight movement woke him up. He opened his eyes, his foggy mind taking a moment to recognise his surroundings and realise the movement had been Elizabeth's hand.

He sat up straight, suddenly completely alert as Elizabeth's eyes tried to open. He stood up and told one of the nurses to get Carson then leaned down over Elizabeth, never letting go of her hand.

"Elizabeth," he said quietly "Can you hear me?"

"John," the sound was barely more than a whisper but it gave John such a sense of relief that he almost had to sit back down. She finally opened her eyes and John smiled, his relief probably more than evident and just for that moment he didn't care that he was probably an open book.

"Hey," he greeted her and she returned his smile with a small one of her own. "You had us all pretty worried."

Carson arrived then, slightly out of breath and still a mess from sleep, clearly he'd wasted no time in getting here. He started fussing over her, jokingly scolding her for giving them all a scare but John didn't hear most of it, he was too busy being overjoyed. Once Carson was done, he gave her some painkillers and told John that he would inform the others and that if he didn't go and get some proper sleep soon he'd sedate him.

"You said you had something to tell me," Elizabeth stated and John looked confused for a moment before realisation dawned on him. "You said you had something to tell me when we got back to Atlantis, what was it?"

He briefly contemplated lying, making up something that was only half as important as what had really been going through his mind when he'd said that. The last two days had taught him something important though, he could lose this, lose his chance with her any day and if that happened and he'd never told her the truth it would be the biggest regret of his life.

He opened his mouth but the words that had seemed so clear in his head just wouldn't come out. Elizabeth was laid there, propped up by pillows and waiting for an answer that he couldn't give her, at least not with words. He made a snap decision and leaned down, brushing her lips with his and kissing her lightly. He pulled back, trying to judge her reaction which was confused at first and then... hopeful.

"That's what I wanted to tell you," he said, the gesture more adequate than the words he'd come up with but couldn't voice. Elizabeth's response was cut off by Teyla's arrival; the Athosian had already been on her way back when Carson had radioed her. Elizabeth gave John a smile, all the answer he needed as she talked with Teyla.


End file.
